Spotify playlist archive

Okay so rather than providing a separate Spotify playlist for every set that I post here, I'm gonna just add songs to one master playlist archive. Subscribe to it and it will be updated whenever I add a new track. Should be simpler for me and y'all too. Link to the Spotify playlist archive here or in the top panel of the sidebar.

CodeBLUE 10/14/2011

Last night I spun the early set at CodeBLUE, which was moving into nice new digs at OuterSpace in Wicker Park. The change of address didn't appear to throw anybody off, since a healthy crowd arrived early on. Unfortunately we hadn't quite gotten the sound straightened out--the organizers had rented a good portable sound system, but the vendor hadn't provided all of the necessary cables, so I had to DJ off of one speaker for most of the evening. (Two frantic trips to the vendor later, and finally both were working, in time for the last 10 songs of my set.)

Thanks to organizers Tia, Anna, & Heather for inviting me to DJ--I had a lot of fun stretching outside my usual lindy hop box. Here's what I played (along with the usual sparkline and histogram):

1. Rock Me All Night Long - The Fabulous Treniers - The Hoss Allen Sessions - 2:41 - 155
2. Tight Like This - Tuba Skinny - Tubaskinny - 4:28 - 125
3. Shake That Thing - Wynonie Harris - Risque Blues - It Ain't the Meat - 2:17 - 135
4. Juke - Little Walter - The Best Of Little Walter - 2:45 - 135
5. Bad Bad Whiskey - Buddy Guy & Junior Wells - Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues - 4:14 - 115
6. Yes Sir, That's My Baby - Earl Hines - A Monday Date - 3:00 - 140
7. Last Night On The Backporch - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Ol' New Orleans Home - 4:10 - 150
8. Love Me or Leave Me - Banu Gibson - Let Yourself Go - 3:07 - 165
9. If You'se a Viper - John Sinclair - No Money Down - 3:55 - 150
10. I Don't Care Who Knows - Catherine Russell - Sentimental Streak - 3:18 - 125
11. Tears Of Joy - Janiva Magness - My Bad Luck Soul - 3:08 - 110
12. Don't Go No Farther - Muddy Waters - The Chess Box - 2:56 - 105
13. Blooz ... First Thaingh 'Dis Moanin' - Wycliffe Gordon - Originals Only - 5:23 - 85
14. Summertime - Gordon Webster - Happy When I'm With You - 4:04 - 120
15. Bassology - Slim Gaillard - The Very Best Of - 2:49 - 155
16. Communications - Slim Gaillard - Slim Gaillard: 1947-1951 - 2:29 - 175
17. The Wild Mab Of The Fish Pond - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - 1941-Transcription Performance - 2:20 - 155
18. Chant Of The Groove - Fats Waller - Fats Waller 1941 - 3:05 - 185
19. Artillerie Lourde - Twin Cities Hot Club - Twin Cities Hot Club - 5:28 - 140
20. That Ain't Right - Fats Waller - Last Testament - His Final Recordings 9-23-43 - 2:59 - 80
21. You Just Usin' Me for a Convenience - Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee - A Long Way from Home - 3:45 - 85
22. Ray's Cookie Dance - Gerry Hundt - Acoustic - 3:09 - 135
23. Lowdown Baby - Joe Morris - Best Of The Early Years - 2:56 - 70
24. Hesitation Blues - Dave Van Ronk - The Two Sides Of Dave Van Ronk - 3:32 - 115
25. When I Get Low - Gordon Webster - Live In Philadelphia - 5:27 - 105
26. Honeysuckle Rose - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 2:56 - 170
27. Dark Eyes - Fats Waller - Happy Birthday Fats Vol. 1 - 3:22 - 160
28. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen - Adrian Rollini - 1937-1938 - 3:12 - 215
29. Lumby - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Essential, Vol. 2 - 2:31 - 195
30. Blue Drag - Earl Hines - Swingin' Down - 2:59 - 140
31. Song With No Words - Asylum Street Spankers - Strawberry - 5:43 - 102
32. Little Red Rooster - Sam Cooke - The Rhythm And The Blues - 2:52 - 95
33. 3 O'Clock In The Morning Blues - Ike & Tina Turner - Mississippi Blues - 2:40 - 60
34. Sure Hope You Mean It - Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It - 3:40 - 100
35. Heart Of Steel - Galactic - Ya-Ka-May - 3:27 - 90

Fizz 10/10/2011

I had the early set last night at Fizz, back in the saddle after nearly 2 months. It was a fun evening, not terribly packed, but the dance floor seemed comfortably full for most of the evening. (The bar area was quite crowded because the Bears were playing.) My friend John had the late set, and around 10:45 we started trading songs back and forth. More on that below.

Once again, I'm going to publish my setlist on Spotify, even though only about half the songs are available. Let me know if it works for you. The usual bpm sparkline and freq. distribution exclude the first five songs since I played them to an empty room. Here's the complete run-down:

1. Page Mr. Trumpet - Pete Johnson - NSC111 NATIONAL- - 2:52 - 165 (As usual, there was hardly anyone there when I started. Folks trickled in.)
2. Swing, Brother, Swing - Willie "The Lion" Smith - Willie "The Lion" Smith And His Cubs - 2:51 - 230
3. Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes - The Harlem Hamfats - Harlem Hamfats Vol. 2 1936-1937 - 2:42 - 160
4. I Got Rhythm - Django Reinhardt - The Swing Sessions Volume 1 - 2:16 - 280
5. Sweet Sue - Svend Asmussen - Musical Miracle Vol. 1: 1935-40 - 2:55 - 185
6. "Murder" He Says - Four Vagabonds - Four Vagabonds Vol. 3 (1943) - 2:31 - 150 (Folks are dancing by this point.)
7. Gettin' In The Groove - Al Cooper's Savoy Sultans - Al Cooper's Savoy Sultan: 1938-1941 - 2:58 - 140
8. Swing Low - Adrian Rollini - 1934-1938 - 3:05 - 175
9. Summit Ridge Drive - Buddy DeFranco - Plays Artie Shaw - 4:35 - 145
10. He Ain't Got Rhythm - Jimmie Lunceford - Life Is Fine - 2:45 - 174
11. The Right Idea - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Swing Street Strut - 3:13 - 185
12. Rosetta - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Cures Everything But The Blues - 4:34 - 165
13. Savoy Blues - The Wolverines Jazz Band Of Bern - Wolverines Of Bern At 35 - 3:56 - 140
14. Comes Love - Duke Heitger - Duke Heitger's "Krazy Kapers" - 4:34 - 150
15. All Of Me - Twin Cities Hot Club - Twin Cities Hot Club - 4:10 - 165
16. Look-A There - Slim Gaillard - The Very Best Of - 2:17 - 180
17. Cement Mixer (Put-Ti-Put-Ti) - Jimmie Lunceford - Jukebox Hits 1935-1947 - 2:45 - 155
18. Afternoon Of A Moax - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - Swing Street Strut - 3:24 - 130
19. Shout 'Em, Aunt Tillie - Duke Ellington - That Lindy Hop - 3:03 - 150 (This one didn't really take. Not right for the crowd.)
20. Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Sidney Bechet - Sidney Bechet: 1949 - 3:20 - 175 (So play a sure-fire winner to recover and climb the energy.)
21. Scram! - Echoes of Swing - Harlem Joys - 3:20 - 195
22. As Long As I Live - Catherine Russell - Inside This Heart of Mine - 3:33 - 120
23. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - Barbara Morrison - Live at the 9:20 Special - 4:16 - 140 (Since she was just in town, singing at WCLX)
24. It Takes Two To Tango - Lester Young - Lester Young : 1951-1952 - 3:14 - 100 (Because I'm no longer allowed to play this one at home.)
25. Sing On (Odessa Sing On) - Gaucho - Pearl - 5:07 - 135
26. Ballin' The Jack - Kid Ory - This Kid's The Greatest! - 3:15 - 145
27. It's You're Last Chance To Dance - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - The Hurricane Sessions - 4:30 - 180
28. Yam Brown - Bob Hunt's Duke Ellington Orchestra - What A Life! - 2:43 - 225 (This one really didn't take. Too 20's charleston, too different I guess.)
29. I Like Pie, I Like Cake - The Four Clefs - BLUEBIRD 8884 - 2:48 - 155 (Again recover with a familiar floor-filler.)
30. Let's Get Drunk And Truck - The Harlem Hamfats - Let's Get Drunk And Truck - 3:06 - 175 (Because nobody was there to dance to the first Hamfats song I played.)
31. I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby - Louis Armstrong - Satch Plays Fats - 4:28 - 162 (This one was John's pick.)
32. Jump Through The Window - Roy Eldridge - Little Jazz Giant - 2:44 - 145 (I counter with another trumpet feature.)
33. Wham! (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam) - Jimmie Lunceford - Lunceford Special - 2:51 - 175 (John's pick: "One good Skye & Frida routine deserves another.")
34. Swingtime in the Rockies - Bernard Berkhout's Swing Orchestra - nieuw album_41 - 3:15 - 220 (I wanted to peak here.)
35. Lucky Number - Artie Shaw - Greatest Big Band Classics - 2:42 - 190 (John's pick.)
36. Ain't Misbehavin' - Sidney Bechet - Perdido Street Blues - 2:52 - 145 (Birthday jam for Bob "DJ Thor" B, who is a big Bechet fan.)
37. Exactly Like You - Cecile Mclorin Salvant and the Jean-Francois Bonnel Paris Quintet - Cecile - 5:10 - 125 (I got a complaint and a request for something "smoother" so I played this.)
38. Mr. Rhythm - Glenn Crytzer And His Sycopators - Harlem Mad - 4:08 - 130 (John's pick.)
39. Broken Hearted Blues - Tuba Skinny - Garbage Man - 3:45 - 120 (from Meschiya Lake to Erika Lewis.)

First Friday playlist on Spotify

I've been playing with Spotify for a couple of weeks now, but pretty casually, and I'm sure that I'm not taking advantage of most of the features. I think I've succeeded in publishing my playlist from last Friday's dance at Big City Swing. If you have Spotify, check it out:

2011-10-07 First Friday at BCS

From what I can tell, only about 2/3 of the songs that I played will be available for you to hear, but still that's better than nothing.

Please leave a comment if it works for you--or if it doesn't, tell me what happened. Depending on how well it works, I may start publishing more playlists.

First Friday at Big City Swing 10/7/2011

Last night at Big City Swing was buckets of fun. Actually, they probably should have had some buckets on hand--it got so sweaty in there, condensation started forming on the ventilation near the ceiling, then dripping down on me and my laptop. I didn't really mind, I was having such a good time. Highlights of the night included out-of-town friends showing up (all of whom have become straight up Rock Stars when it comes to lindy hop), dancing with several awesome followers who have just moved to town, and a phenomenal tap performance by Bril Barrett of MaddRhythms.

Bril danced to an Oscar Peterson track and left everyone speechless. His dancing is amazingly confident and controlled, yet loose and relaxed. And his rhythms, in addition to being totally mind-blowing, had a very strong continuity to them. Sometimes when I watch tap-dancers--even very very talented ones--showing off their fancy steps, I find it hard to follow their variations because they seem to deviate from whatever pulse they had going. Not with Bril--every beat he made was clear, in the pocket, and you could hear how all his fancy rhythms were connected to each other. (Bril offers several levels of tap classes at Big City Swing. When he finished dancing, his comment was "You too can learn to do that in only four easy lessons.....of twenty years a piece.")

At the start of the evening, Jenna and I taught the taster lesson, and decided to use music that was a bit faster than usual. (For intro. lessons, we usually use music 150-160 bpm--last night we ranged up to 180.) That allowed me to play fast stuff for the first couple songs in my set, which put me in a really good position for the rest of the night. As you can see in the sparkline, I was able to ride the tempo up and down nicely, though looking at it now, I think I could have pushed the boundaries out more in both directions. More on this in the running commentary.

Here's the setlist (sparkline and freq. distribution):

1. Put A Lid On It - Davina & The Vagabonds - Live @ The Times - 3:13 - 170 (This was the transition from lesson to dance. My Swing 1 students from last month really dug this tune.)
2. Bring It On Down - The Baby Soda Jazz Band - Cures Everything But The Blues - 2:34 - 175
3. When I Grow Too Old To Dream - The Palmetto Bug Stompers - Live @ D.B.A. - 2:55 - 190
4. My Blue Heaven - Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Songs of New Orleans - 5:21 - 150
5. Meet Me in Uptown - The Mighty Blue Kings - Meet Me In Uptown - 2:59 - 145
6. Sure, Had A Wonderful Time - Louis Jordan - Louis Jordan And His Tympani Five, Volume 1 - 3:00 - 135
7. Route 66 - Gordon Webster - Live In Philadelphia - 4:24 - 150 (First of two songs off this album that I played. Then Bob played at least one more during his set.)
8. Come On-A My House - Rosemary Clooney - The Essential Rosemary Clooney - 1:56 - 180
9. The Wild Mab Of The Fish Pond - Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra - 1941-Transcription Performance - 2:20 - 155
10. Georgia Grind - Lillian Boutté - Music Is My Life - 3:32 - 145
11. Big Fat Mama - Lucky Millinder - Apollo Jump - 3:08 - 135
12. A Viper's Moan - Willie Bryant And His Orchestra - 1935-1936 - 3:25 - 150 (Stoner swing interlude.)
13. Peckin' - Duke Ellington - The Duke's Men: The Small Groups, Vol. 1 - 3:09 - 160
14. Evenin' - Count Basie - Count Basie at Newport - 3:32 - 165
15. Everybody Rock - Ella Fitzgerald - Live At The Savoy - 1939-40 - 3:18 - 185
16. Milenberg Joys - Gordon Webster - Live In Philadelphia - 3:45 - 190
17. Down south camp meeting - Svend Asmussen - Still Fiddling - 3:41 - 145
18. No Regrets - Stephanie Nakasian - Billie Remembered: The Classic Songs Of Billie Holiday - 2:52 - 130
19. Southern sunset - Swing Parade South - Hommage a Sidney Bechet - 3:32 - 105 (Slowest song that I played all evening. Didn't seem to phase anyone. I probably could have played more stuff in this range.)
20. Six Appeal - Jonathan Stout & His Campus Five - Crazy Rhythm - 3:29 - 135
21. Skin 'Em Back - Skeets Tolbert - Skeets Tolbert 1931-1940 - 2:43 - 150
22. Wham (Re-Bop-Boom-Bam) - Glenn Miller - Perfect Swing - 3:36 - 165
23. 8, 9 And 10 - Slim Gaillard - The Very Best Of - 2:43 - 175
24. I Can't Dance I Got Ants In My Pants - The Smoking Time Jazz Club - Quarter Note Vol. 1 - 4:13 - 210 (Fastest song of the set. Seemed to get people excited, leading in to a jam circle on the next song....)
25. Black Coffee - The Careless Lovers - Black Coffee - Single - 2:39 - 195
26. If You're A Viper - Kermit Ruffins - The Big Butter & Egg Man - 3:08 - 170
27. Everybody Loves My Baby - Sippie Wallace - Sippie - 3:11 - 145
28. Ochi Chornya - Wingy Manone - Wingy Manone: 1940-1944 - 2:54 - 165
29. Dear Old Southland - Sidney Bechet - Classic Sides 1931-1937 (CD A) - 3:03 - 140
30. Grabtown Grapple - Artie Shaw - 1944-45 - 3:00 - 190
31. Tain't What You Do - Jimmie Lunceford - Jimmie Lunceford - 3:06 - 160 (Shim-sham, timed to lead in to the tap performance.)

Vince Giordano & "Ragged Jazz"

Check out this interview with Vince Giordano, leader of the Nighthawks 1920's jazz & dance orchestra, promoting the soundtrack to HBO's prohibition drama Boardwalk Empire. The Nighthawks are featured prominently in the series and on the soundtrack. It's a bit on the fluffy side, but there's one interesting bit where Vince explains the term "ragged jazz." He uses it for music that was on the cusp between ragtime and jazz. It's a great label, and now it makes me consider relabeling some of the genres in my iTunes database now....